


Cupcakes & Chemistry

by afteriwake



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-29
Updated: 2015-07-29
Packaged: 2018-04-11 21:32:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4453127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Molly surprises Sherlock with a tray of cupcakes after a very long case, so Sherlock decides he should surprise her with the perfect cupcake on her birthday, made by him, only the surprise seems to be on <i>him</i> that evening.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [justmindy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/justmindy/gifts), [daisherz365](https://archiveofourown.org/users/daisherz365/gifts).



> So there's been some stuff spreading around, some hate directed at certain fans, and I offered fluff for people who needed it and got a few offers. This particular fic was written for my friend **justmindy** , and I used two prompts for it. The first was a fluffy headcanon from **[daisherz365](http://sincerelydayyy.tumblr.com/post/121217446585/let-there-be-headcanons-ii)** on Tumblr ( _Sherlock making a single cupcake for Molly’s birthday and sending Mycroft the rest to mess with him_ ) and the other is a prompt from the now defunct Tumblr **imagineyourotp** ( _Imagine person A of your OTP coming home from a long, hard day at work and being presented with a tray of cupcakes person B made for them while they are out._ ). Hope you enjoy, sweetie!

It had not been the easiest of cases. He’d had to leave the country and travel to Rome before it was all finished, and then when he returned he was whisked into a meeting with his brother that dragged on and on, much to his utter annoyance. He just wanted to get back to Baker Street, to get home and get his bearings before trotting off to Molly’s flat to await the end of her shift and surprise her with the trinket he bought her in Rome. He had more gifts for her, to be given each day for the next week as a build-up to her birthday on Saturday, but this was an “I am glad I am home and I saw this and I thought of you” gift as opposed to a birthday gift. It was different than the rest.

Finally he was excused from his brother’s home and ushered into one of the black sedans Mycroft had on standby to be taken to Molly’s home. There would not be enough time to go back to Baker Street first; her shift ended at five and based on her normal routine schedule she would be at her flat no later than 6:14 at the latest, and it was nearly six now. He would have just enough time to slip inside her home and make himself comfortable in his favorite chair, so long as traffic held up. 

He sat back in the seat and idly drummed his fingers on his thigh. They had been in a romantic relationship for one year, four months and thirteen days now. It seemed long enough to make some changes. He had hesitated on asking her to move in with him because he knew she liked having space of her own, and her home was all her own, as opposed to his flat, which was shared with Mrs. Hudson. So there would need to be discussion on that. But perhaps it was time to initiate a change. He could broach it tonight.

When the car pulled up he didn’t wait for the driver to let him out and he got out on his own, walking quickly to the stairs and then bounding up them. He took out his key and then unlocked the door. It was 6:11 and so he had three minutes to get settled. When he opened the door, though, he realized he had already been beaten to the punch as he smelled something quite delectable in the air. “Molly?” he called out, taking off his scarf and coat.

“In the kitchen,” she called back. He made his way to the sitting room and saw sitting on the table a tray of cupcakes, all perfectly frosted. He looked over at her and she gave him a smile. “Anthea texted me when your brother kidnapped you and said you would be tied up for a bit but you were back in London now. I thought you might like a surprise when you got here. Dinner’s in the oven as well.”

“Didn’t you have to work today?” he asked.

“I left early,” she said with a smile. “I haven’t really felt well this week. Bit of the flu or something.” She gestured to the cupcakes. “Go ahead and have one. They’re your favorite, vanilla with the chocolate ganache filling and chocolate butter cream frosting on top.”

He went over and caressed her cheek. “I know those are a pain in the arse to make,” he said.

“Well, you’re worth it,” she said, leaning in and kissing him. She had intended it to be a brief brushing of her lips on his but he kept her close. He’d been gone a week and he wanted to revel in the experience of kissing her as long as she could. After a few minutes he pulled away and she looked up at him, eyes sparkling. “If you give me five minutes to check and see if supper’s done, we can eat it later. It will be cold, but…”

“I don’t mind,” he said.

She gave him another kiss and this time he let it be quick before pulling away from him. He went and picked up one of the cupcakes, taking a bite of it and shutting his eyes as he savored it. One day he would definitely have to return the favor, make something that tasted this exquisite for her. And then an idea hit him. He could make her a cupcake for her birthday. It gave him a week to figure out the perfect recipe. And making a cupcake shouldn’t be _that_ hard, right? Cooking and baking were exactly like chemistry. It should be a piece of cake.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone interested, [this](http://natashaskitchen.com/2013/09/26/cherry-surprise-honey-cupcakes-recipe/) is the cupcake recipe Sherlock was using.

He had severely underestimated just how bloody hard it was to make a cupcake.

He knew Molly preferred vanilla cupcakes, and she liked butter cream frosting. When she made cupcakes for him she usually made those for him, though sometimes she made the frosting chocolate. He knew she liked cherries, and not just the way they looked. So he decided to make her vanilla cupcakes with cherry filling and vanilla butter cream frosting. The directions looked simple enough. The pictures of the finished product looked as though it could be done to perfection.

So why did his turn out like charcoal briquettes?

He sighed. He’d been at this for six days now, in between cases and time with Molly. He’d spent each evening with her, taking her out to fine restaurants, surprising her with considerate dates and a new gift each night. In between the planning for these dates and the cases he’d been working on there hadn’t been much free time, but he’d had thought he’d have made more progress by now. And now it was her birthday and he only had a few scant hours left to make at least one before she came over.

“What on earth have you been doing in here, Sherlock?” Mrs. Hudson asked, wrinkling her nose as she entered the sitting room. 

“Trying to make the perfect cupcake for Molly,” he said, hanging his head.

“Well, dear, would you mind a bit of help?” she asked.

He debated that. “As long as I do most of the work,” he said after a moment. “As it is my gift, I should be the one making it.”

“Of course,” she said with a nod. She came over and looked at his worktop. “Now. What type of cupcakes are you making?”

He indicated the recipe on the screen. “This, the Cherry Surprise Honey Cupcakes. They look like what Molly makes, and she likes honey and cherries and I thought they paired well together, so…” He waved at the pad of paper next to it. “I already converted the recipe to the metric system.”

Mrs. Hudson looked from the recipe on the laptop screen to the pad. “Are you using both cake flour and all-purpose flour?” she asked.

“Is there really a difference?” he asked.

“It’s something you learn when you’re reading a recipe. If they call for two different types of flours or two different types of sugars, it’s usually for a good reason.” She looked around. “Let’s clean things up a bit and then get started. I have cake flour so we’ll get this all sorted, all right, Sherlock?”

He nodded. “All right.” He began to clean up again as Mrs. Hudson went back to her part of the flat. He checked to make sure he had enough to make another batch, and realized this would be the last of the eggs and olive oil, though since he had bought the olive oil especially for this recipe he doubted he would have use of it again. He also realized he had been smart to buy the canned pie filling as opposed to trying to make his own for this.

Mrs. Hudson returned soon enough with a canister and she finished helping him clean off a good space. Together they measured out the ingredients and mixed them together. Mrs. Hudson was much less particular with the sequence, saying she had a “feel” for how it should work, and considering how disastrously his own attempts had gone he was inclined to trust her judgment. They preheated the oven and then began to fill the cupcake tins with the batter before depositing a bit of the pie filling in the center of each before adding more batter.

Finally they were in the oven to bake, and Sherlock began making the two of them some tea. “I think this batch should be satisfactory,” Mrs. Hudson said with a smile. “Molly will be quite pleased.”

“So long as I don’t muck up the icing,” he said.

“Butter cream?” she asked. He nodded. “Since you did all the hard work for the actual cupcakes, I don’t think she’ll mind if I whip that up for you.”

“I would appreciate that,” Sherlock said.

“I think it’s lovely you’re going to all this trouble to impress her,” Mrs. Hudson said. “She means a great deal to you.”

“She does,” he agreed.

“Have you considered asking her to marry you?” Mrs. Hudson asked.

He stilled. “I doubt she’d say yes,” he said quietly.

“Sherlock, she would have said yes after your first date,” Mrs. Hudson said with a chuckle. She came over and gave Sherlock a side hug. “Go off and get her a nice ring. Nothing too little, not like that cheap bastard before you. Nothing too ostentatious, either. I’ll take care of the cupcakes. I’m assuming she’s getting one and the rest are being packed off and sent to your brother?”

Sherlock gave her a wide grin. “You do know me well, Mrs. Hudson.”

“I try, dear. Now go. I don’t imagine you have much time before she comes over.” He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek and then went to grab his coat and scarf. He supposed if he was going to bring up change of residencies since he hadn’t done it earlier in the week it wouldn’t hurt to ask for her hand in marriage as well. There was a better chance she’d say yes, if Mrs. Hudson was right. He just hoped she was.


	3. Chapter 3

He had it all set up by the time Molly arrived at six-thirty. She had an early day at work today, so she could go home and get ready for the party that John and Mary had insisted on throwing, but he had said he had a special surprise for her before the party. He had simply meant for it to be the cupcake and the most expensive gift he had bought her, a first edition of Pride & Prejudice, but he supposed the lead-up had made it seem a proposal was likely as well. At least if she was expecting it she would get one.

He was quite nervous, though. He found it easy to talk to Molly about anything, but even now he was worried he would stumble over the words with how important she was to him, with how much he loved her, how much he needed her in his life from now until one of them was no longer there. He was worried he would make an absolute fool out of himself, but if this was what she wanted, and he hoped it was, then he would give it to her.

The door opened and he heard heels clack on the entryway floor. “Sherlock?” Molly called out.

“In the sitting room,” he said. He quickly lit the candle in the cupcake and then held the plate the cupcake was on in front of him.

He heard her heels on the stairs after a moment, and he saw her come up. She was wearing a red wrap dress with white flowers on it and matching red heels, and for a moment he almost wanted to take her to bed and ignore everyone at the party. But he knew this evening he would get to go home with her, either to her flat or his, so he resisted the urge. She smiled at him as she spotted the cupcake. “Did you make this?”

“With some help from Mrs. Hudson,” he said with a nod. She stepped closer. “Make a wish.”

“I don’t know what else I could wish for,” she said, but after a moment she shut her eyes and then blew out the candle. “All right. I’ve made my wish.”

“Then it’s time for you to enjoy your cupcake,” he said.

“Have you had one?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Mrs. Hudson did, though. She assured me it tastes delectable. It’s a vanilla honey cupcake with cherry filling.”

“That sounds scrumptious,” she said, taking a bite. She looked as though she savored it at first, but then not so much. She set the cupcake back on the plate. “I’m so sorry. I…I can’t have any more.”

“Are you all right?” he asked, concerned, as he set the plate on the table by his chair.

“Morning sickness, even though it isn’t really morning,” she said, giving him a wan smile. “I’m pregnant, Sherlock.”

It took a moment for her words to register, but when they did he felt a wide grin form on his face. “You’re pregnant?” he asked.

She nodded. “A little over a month and a half. I had blood work done today when I realized I still felt ill when everyone else was feeling better.” She looked at him. “You aren’t upset?”

He moved closer and kissed her, and she melted against him, relaxing into the kiss as she wound her arms up around his neck. He pulled her closer, deepening the kiss until she was breathless. “Well, that just means that I hope you’ll say yes when I give you the engagement ring I bought to propose to you with. I mean, I think we should raise this child together, after all.”

“So you really were going to ask me to marry you?” she asked with a wide smile.

“Someone said you would have said yes after our first date,” he said. “I thought after so long it would be a reasonable assumption you would say yes.”

“Well, I do. A million times, yes,” she said before kissing him again. After a moment she pulled away, her lips hovering just above his. “I love you, Sherlock. More than anything.”

“I love you too, Molly,” he said before kissing her again. This had honestly turned out to be the best evening he could have asked for, far better than he had expected. He had hopes that this would lead to a bright and happy future for the two of them and their child, and that was an amazing feeling.


End file.
